Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Harrine Freeman author of  How To Get out of Debt: Get an "A"Reading for free Using the System I've Use Successfully with Thousands of Clients.

Good day Harrine and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

Please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional background.

Harrine:

Hello, Norm, it is my pleasure.  Well, my professional background is Information Technology. However, I have also loved working with numbers and took several math courses in college such as Calculus I, II, and III, Probability & Statistics, etc.  I majored in Computer Science to combine my love for computers and math.  About 10 years ago I started doing taxes for myself, family and friends. That piqued my interest to go further into dealing with numbers.  As luck would have it about 8 years ago I started helping family and friends restore their credit.  Then in 2002 I started my own business providing personal finance services which includes helping clients restore their credit, learning how to manage their finances and providing seminars and workshops for children and adults on various personal finance topics such as Financial Literacy, Establishing Business Credit, Budgeting, and Credit Repair.
 

Norm:

Could your brielf tell our readers what

How to Get out of Debt: Get an “A” Credit Rating for Free

Using the System I’ve Used Successfully with Thousands of

Clients is all about?

Harrine:

The book describes my personal story of how I got out of debt. I got my first

credit card when I was in college.  Once I got approved I kept getting offers in

the mail for pre-approved credit cards and signed up for those as well. I ended

up having a total of 13 credit cards and being $19,000 in debt. At that time I was

making $21,000 a year.

Norm: 

There have been many books dealing with the same subject as yours.

What differentiates your book from the others?

Harrine:

I compared my book to other books on the market to see what was missing

from those books. I also had friends read my book and give me feedback. 

My book is different because I tell my personal story of how I got out of debt

and I explain in great detail all of the methods I used to pay off my debt and

restore my credit. I provide easy everyday examples of how to reduce your

expenses, how to deal with creditors, how to restore your credit, how to

maintain your good credit and how to pay off debt. I did a book signing last

month and a customer who previously bought my book told me they read my

book everyday and also have every section of the book highlighted or marked.

That made me feel good to know that my book is really helping people.

Norm:

What are the most common reasons why people get into debt?

Harrine:

The most common reasons people get into debt are: lack of health insurance,

living above your means, lack of money management skills, divorce or loss of

a job.

Norm: 

Whom do you think will benefit from your book and why?

Harrine:

I think anyone who is currently in debt, needs to improve their credit rating,

wants to maintain their good credit or wants to learn how to manage their

finances would benefit from my book. They would benefit because most of the

information provided in the book is based on my own experience and

information I gained from working with my clients over the past 6 years.  Some

companies help clients with the same issues but have never really had any

financial problems such as being in debt so they cannot relate to clients on a

 personal level. 

Norm:

How did you decide you were ready to write the book?

Harrine:

I signed up for a writing course to see if I could write. I had been told by family

members that I could write and always received "A's" on writing assignments in

school.  My intentions were not to write a book, I just started writing down my

thoughts about my experience with debt which totalled about 33 pages. I kept

expanding on those pages and it eventually turned into a book. 

Norm:

What kind of research did you do to write this book? What are your hopes for this book?
 

Harrine:

I used my own research, experiences from working with my clients, and

information from various sources such as: the Federal Trade Commission,

Consumer Action Division, the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and

TransUnion; government laws such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair

Debt Practices Collection Act, and financial magazines such as: Smart Money,

Money and Forbes.

Norm:

Can you tell us how you found representation for your book? Did you pitch it to an agent,

or query publishers who would most likely publish this type of book? Any rejections? Did you self-publish?

Harrine:

I queried about 10 publishers for my book but was rejected by all of them. I

knew my book could help many people so I persisted and instead self-published

my book by creating my own publishing company, Adept Publishers and am

happy I did.

Norm:

Do you set yourself daily, weekly, yearly goals as to how you are going to spend your money?

If so, what are some of your goals?

Harrine:

I set quarterly, bi-yearly and yearly goals regarding my finances. Most of my

goals are pretty long-term since the only debt I owe is my mortgage and I have

already planned for my retirement.  One of my goals is to purchase several

investment properties, another goal is to pay off my mortgage, and another goal

is to create a foundation.

Norm:

Do you have any statistics as to the number of people who become debt

free after following your counselling and who don’t return to their old

habits?

Harrine:

The statistics are based on the clients who follow exactly the advice I provide. 

 If clients follow my advice exactly they do become debt free and are able to

restore their credit and go on to purchase a home, start a business or buy

investment property.  Some clients do not follow my advice exactly and get

themselves into trouble again and then call me to work my magic.  After they

bump their head a few times they realize my advice is accurate. I would say that

95% of my clients do not return to their old habits, they definitely learn from their

 mistakes and if for some reason they make a mistake they are equipped with the

information to quickly remedy the situation and keep their credit intact.

Norm:

It is said by many money managers that the best way to manage your

money is to live below your means. Do you agree and if so, why?

Harrine:

Yes, I believe the best way to manage your money is live below your means. 

According to the Federal Reserve 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck

and 40% of Americans live above their means.  I agree because it is important to

have some flexibility when managing your money because something unexpected

could happen and that could mean the difference of retaining your residence or

losing it as we can see with the current economy.  The economy is very unstable,

many companies are downsizing or giving pay cuts to employees, eliminating

retirement plans, raising the costs of health coverage or reducing employee

benefits. The cost of living is increasing at a quick rate and if you don't have a

cushion to ease the burden you could end up in a bad situation that could take

years to recover from.

Norm:

How will you be using the Internet to promote your book and your services? 

Harrine:

I use the Internet to promote my book and services by doing interviews such as the interview I am doing with BookPleasures.com.  I also visit various blog and internet websites and comment on postings of articles, join various listservs, social networking sites, personal finance discussion forums, chat rooms, and post comments on my own blog, http://hefreemanenterprises.blogspot.com. 

Norm: 

Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)

Harrine: 

I have already written a children's book and will start working on another personal finance book that digs deeper into the topics discussed in my first book, How to Get out of Debt: Get an “A” Credit Rating for Free.

Norm:

How can our readers find out more about you and your book?

Harrine: 

Your readers can find out more about me and my book by visiting my website at www.hefreemanenterprises.com.

Norm: 

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

 Harrine:

I would like for your readers to know that you can't restore your credit or get out of debt overnight but it can be done. You have to have patience, make sacrifices and be committed to improving your financial life.  I leave you with my quote, "Money can generate wealth or generate debt, you make the choice."

 Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.